The Nashville Food Project Partners with Davidson County Residential Recovery Court to Support Garden and Orchard Stewardship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Nashville Food Project Partners with Davidson County Residential Recovery Court to Support Garden and Orchard Stewardship
Partnership will help residents in recovery cultivate responsibility, purpose, and connection through hands-on growing work
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October, 15 2026) – The Nashville Food Project is partnering with Davidson County Residential Recovery Court to support the organization’s garden and orchard as part of The Nashville Food Project’s Community Agriculture Network and community orchard work.
The garden and orchard serve residents of Davidson County Residential Recovery Court, also known as DC4, a program supporting men in recovery from substance use and criminal thinking. Through hands-on growing work, residents practice core values such as honesty, responsibility, accountability, and work ethic while learning to care for something outside of themselves.
As part of the partnership, The Nashville Food Project will support garden stewardship and facilitate an orchard revitalization in March 2027. The revitalization will include caring for older trees and planting new trees alongside DC4 members. The orchard revitalization is not open to the public.
“We want to become a partner garden in The Nashville Food Project’s Community Agriculture Network because it directly aligns with the mission and daily work of the Davidson County Residential Recovery Court,” said Nathan Gow of Davidson County Residential Recovery Court. “Our program serves men in recovery from substance use and criminal thinking, and we are always looking for ways to connect them to purpose, responsibility, and a healthy community. A partner garden gives our residents more than just a place to volunteer. It gives them a place to practice a new way of living.”
For residents, the garden and orchard create a structured environment for learning patience, consistency, and follow-through. Planting, tending, and harvesting offer a tangible reflection of recovery itself: steady effort over time producing real, life-giving results.
“Through gardening, our residents learn patience, consistency, and accountability,” Gow said. “They experience the process of planting, tending, and harvesting, something many have never had the opportunity to see through. This mirrors recovery: steady effort over time producing real, life-giving results.”
The partnership is intended to reinforce recovery principles, provide meaningful service opportunities, build job and life skills, support physical and mental health through outdoor activity, and strengthen residents’ connection to community.
The Nashville Food Project is also an affiliate partner of The Giving Grove, a national nonprofit that helps make small orchard installations and revitalizations possible in communities across the country. Through this affiliate partnership, The Nashville Food Project supports community-led orchards that increase access to fresh food while encouraging long-term stewardship.
“Community agriculture is about more than growing food,” said Lindsey McKee, Community Orchard Manager of The Nashville Food Project. “It is about creating places where people can build skills, practice care, strengthen relationships, and experience belonging. We are grateful to partner with Davidson County Residential Recovery Court in supporting a garden and orchard that are rooted in purpose, recovery, and community.”
The Nashville Food Project is currently accepting applications for future community orchard sites on a rolling basis. Neighborhood groups, community gardens, faith communities, schools, and other community-led sites interested in planting or revitalizing an orchard are encouraged to apply.
Partnership Details
What: Davidson County Residential Recovery Court garden and orchard partnership
Partner: Davidson County Residential Recovery Court
Orchard Revitalization: March 2027
Public Access: The garden and orchard are not open to the public
Supporting Partner: The Giving Grove
Community Orchard Applications:
https://forms.monday.com/forms/aa28edf3f5a177ea7dfdfef15b103af2?r=use1
Community Garden Applications:
https://forms.monday.com/forms/c85c4fe762411fedf9cc3158033090d7?r=use1
Promotional Assets:
About The Nashville Food Project
The Nashville Food Project was born from the belief that all people should have access to the food they want and need. In pursuit of that vision, we bring people together to grow, cook, and share food, cultivating community and working to alleviate hunger across our city.
In Nashville, one in seven people lacks consistent access to enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle, while more than 40% of all food goes to waste. Hunger is not caused by a lack of food alone. It is shaped by systems. Poverty, unemployment, low wages, and rising housing costs all contribute to the challenges many of our neighbors face.
We believe food can be a powerful tool to foster health, belonging, and justice in our community. Through our kitchens, Community Agriculture Network, and partnerships across Nashville, we work to transform surplus into nourishment and connection.
In 2026, we will share more than 344,000 scratch-made meals and recover over 330,000 pounds of food, supporting after-school programs, immigrant communities, homeless outreach organizations, and many others across Nashville.
Grow — In our gardens, we grow organic food intensively, and share resources with others interested in growing their own food.
Cook — In our kitchens, we use recovered, donated and garden-grown food to prepare and cook made-from-scratch meals.
Share — In our community, we share nourishing meals in partnership with local poverty-disrupting nonprofits and community groups.
The Nashville Food Project embraces a vision of vibrant community food security in which everyone in Nashville has access to the food they want and need through a just and sustainable food system.
Media Contact
Esperanza Merritt
(615) 541-8225
